Ezra: If you bump into Uncle Broder in the cafeteria, could you ask him if still thinks the "loud mouth" Al Franken is an embarrassment to the noble institution that includes James Inhofe, Tom Coburn and Jim Demint?

Dude reads his Krugman. Anyone who listened to Mr. Franken's radio show would be completely unsurprised by his ability to understand the issues and get people to agree on at least some corners of what is going on.

Great performance by Franken. The key, as I see it, is that he never assumes poor faith -- he clearly has in the front of his mind that the people he's talking with are good people who are simply misinformed. Treat them with respect, and they grant him the courtesy of listening to him. And, I think, when people actually listen to what health care reform is all about, it's difficult to oppose it.

well, this wasn't an angry mob ezra, these were concerned folks. i'm a leftist myself and look upon most of these "tea parties" with some disdain, but i also know that many (but not all, and perhaps not most) who go to these things are genuinely concerned and just want some kind of dialogue. these people were very fair and receptive to debate and dialogue and were just misinformed on some issues (probably thanks to fox news and libertarian forums)